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‘The Magna Carta of Motor-Cars’On 14 November 1896, a new Act of Parliament in the UK ensured that horseless carriages no longer required a man carrying a red flag to walk in front of them.Here is a newspaper story – published on 14 November 1896 – that reports on the legislation that was called ‘The Magna Carta of Motor-Cars’.Grantham Journal – Saturday 14 November 1896Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000400/18961114/094/0007…

Robert Louis Stevenson was born at 8 Howard Place in Edinburgh on 13 November 1850.  To celebrate the day, here is an early newspaper review (from January 1886) of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – which was published on 5 January 1886.After his death in 1894, the Graphic published a retrospective look at the works of Robert Louis Stevenson and his contribution to literature.…

Elizabeth Gaskell (aka ‘Mrs Gaskell’), author of such classic Victorian and ‘Condition of England’ novels as North and South and Cranford, died in Holybourne, Hampshire, on 12 November 1865 – she was 55.The Illustrated London News did a feature on ‘The Secret of the Author of Cranford‘.To commemorate the day, here is a newspaper tribute to Mrs Gaskell that was published on 18 November 1865.We’ve also included three splendid illustrations for the novel, Cranford, which were published in The Graphic newspaper.…

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, army officer, the first President of Turkey and the ‘Father of the Turks’, died on 10 November 1938 – he was 57.Such was Ataturk’s influence pn Turkey that at 9.05am every 10th of November, the people in Turkey pause in silence for a minute to remember Ataturk.Here is a newspaper obituary of Ataturk that was published on 11 November 1938.Aberdeen Press and Journal – Friday 11 November 1938Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000577/19381111/061/0007…

We were fascinated by this newspaper story from 1828 that reports on how Guy Fawkes night was celebrated in England that year.With the exception of the ringing of church bells, it seems that perhaps not much has changed since 1828.And it’s very interesting to see that this article also includes a mention of how the Stock Exchange celebrated the event – a refreshing angle that is sadly lacking in many of today’s newspaper reports of Bonfire Night.Manchester Courier and Lancashire…

On 4 November 1890, the Prince of Wales opened the world’s first electric underground railway at the King William Street Terminus in London.  The line ran from King William Street to Stockwell and, after its inauguration on 4 November 1890, it opened to the public the following month.Here is a contemporary newspaper story that reports on the grand opening.Register today!…

Recently, several people have asked us when the newspaper library at Colindale will be closing and the print newspapers moving to Boston Spa. In June, the British Library confirmed that the Colindale site in North London will close on Friday 8 November 2013.As many of you will already know, the content on the BNA website comes from the British Library’s amazing newspaper collection at Colindale – which contains over 750 million pages from local, regional and national newspapers, as well as periodicals. But…

Annie Oakley (aka Phoebe Ann Moses), the sharpshooter who found fame in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, died in North Star, Ohio, on 3 November 1926 – she was 66.  Oakley was a champion rifle, wing, and trick shot.  She received international fame.  On one occasion, when Annie was in London,‘five monarchs were present, and one of them, a man who was afterwards to rule as Wilhelm II of Germany, expressed a desire to have the ash removed from his cigar by a…

The BNA is very lucky to have the writer, historian and genealogist, Angela Buckley, as a guest blogger.Previously, Angela has written fascinating articles about the ‘real’ Sherlock Holmes, Detective Jerome Caminada, and the miracle cures of Reverend Silverton.Her third article for the BNA blog is about the terrorist explosion at Praed Street station (now Paddington) on the London Underground, which took place on 30 October 1883.*************************************************************************************The devastating events of 7/7 are still all too fresh in our memory, but the…

Just 11 weeks after the outbreak of World War One, Prince Louis Alexander Mountbatten, First Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, was forced to resign.Although the 60-year-old Mountbatten had given over 40 years of loyal service to the UK, it was felt that, as he was born in Austria, there might be questions regarding his loyalty to the UK as the war progressed.Included below is a news report about Mountbatten’s resignation, and also a short snippet about Lord Fisher, who…